Handle Yourself: Dealing with Criticism & Negativity at the Negotiation Table

Criticism and negativity are unavoidable. The only way to live your life without criticism is to hide away in a cave and never see anyone. Whenever you are negotiating, sooner or later in the process you’re going to receive some criticism or negativity. It’s bound to happen and when it does here are strategies you can use to handle it.

Criticism really just tells you how someone else perceives you at that moment. The difficulty with this perspective is that it is usually tinged with the other person’s emotions. This criticism is like someone holding up a mirror, showing you to yourself from that person’s perspective. The problem with that is unlike a good mirror, criticism quite often gives you a distorted “fun house” warped image as a result of that person’s emotions and their desires. There may be a grain of truth in what they say, but the negativity or criticism distorters can get in the way of the negotiation. Psychologist Dr. Larry Iverson will share strategies for better understanding what is triggering the criticism and how to overcome it without inflaming it more.

• Learn the 7 distortion drivers that cause the other person to criticize.


• Know the kinds of criticism you can encounter and the triggers inside each type.


• Learn the 6 Steps to Anger and how derail it before it ramps up into a conflict.


• Know how to better manage your emotions so you can stay calm and in control.


• Gain Criticism Management strategies that diffuse the conflict and generate positive communication.